BodySnatchers (4 page)

As if she were still struggling out of the fog of sleep, she
glanced down at her breasts. The rosy nipples were taut and pointed where they
nestled in the dark curls sprinkled across his upper body.

“I must be dreaming,” she argued, feeling a frown pull her
forehead downward. She glanced back up at him, tipping her head to the side. “I
seem to have lost my shirt.”

He nodded toward the floor. “I had to cut it off you.”

“And the rest of my clothes?”

“That wasn’t completely my doing.”

Reggie shook her head. “I don’t understand.” Her hair
brushed across her shoulders, the feel of it on her skin sending tingling nerve
flashes downward where her bottom rested on his thighs. His cock twitched
inside her.

Her eyes rounded, her heart skipping several beats before
slamming against her ribs. “What have we done? What the hell’s going on?” She
struggled to free her knees of the tangled sheets.

His fingers curled around her waist. “Slow down before you
get hurt.”

Slapping at his hands, she rolled to the side and stood,
searching for something to cover herself. She grabbed for a pillow and held it
in front of her like a shield. “Who are you, and where am I?”

“I’m Yuri Kovak.” The sexy lilt of his words sounded Russian
or Romanian. “I brought you to my apartment because you were wounded and in
need of my assistance.”

Balancing the pillow against her breasts, she felt along her
shoulder for the bullet wound and found nothing. A quick glance over her
shoulder confirmed there was no wound there as well, no sign of an entrance or
exit wound. Her foot nudged the ruined black tank top on the floor. It was
coated in dried blood. Her blood.

“How?” She stared across the bed at him, watching him
wearily as he stood and carefully zipped his massive cock into his pants, the
resulting tent almost comical if the entire situation wasn’t downright insane.
What a shame to cover such magnificence. She inhaled a deep breath and let it
out slowly. “I’ll ask again. What the hell’s going on?”

“First, tell me what you were doing out in that alley with
the Dragóns chasing after you.”

She crossed her arms over the pillow and held it tight. “Why
should I tell you?”

“It might help me to better explain my actions.”

“So you can lie better?”

“I would not lie to you, pretty lady.” He frowned. “Have you
a name? I can’t continue to call you pretty lady, although the truth is
evident.” His gaze scraped over the tops of her shoulders and the pillow she
held in her arms. “It’s only right to know the name of the woman who just
shared my bed.”

“I didn’t share your bed.” Anger fueled her words. “You
kidnapped me and drugged me or something.”

“I did what I had to do to protect you. The rest was your
idea.” He shrugged as if his crimes meant nothing. “Your name?”

She thought to refuse answering him, but what did it matter
if he knew her name or not? “Regina Gallagher.”

“Regina.” Her name rolled off his tongue like a caress and
tingles slithered across her skin despite the shock of the uncompromising
position she’d found herself in.

“Most people call me Reggie.” Why was she telling him this?
Had she lost her senses? She couldn’t even blame it on her thoughts still being
fuzzy. Her head was clear, and her mind raced through possible scenarios for
escape.

“Why would they call you Reggie when Regina is such a lovely
name?”

“Whatever.” She eyed the door, determined to get out of
there yet too curious to leave. “I answered your question. Why don’t you answer
mine?”

“Fair enough.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why did you really bring me here?”

“I told you already.” He walked around the end of the bed to
stand in front of her, effectively blocking her escape route. “You were injured
and needed attention.”

She hadn’t mistaken the slight pause before the word
“attention”. “Impossible. If I had been injured, there would be signs of a
wound still. Nobody heals that fast.” As she said the words, she glanced again
at her ruined top.

“Ah, but you see the blood, do you not?” He’d caught her
glancing down.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“When you came into this room, you had a bullet wound in
your left shoulder.” His gaze captured hers and held.

“Just how long ago was that?”

He glanced down at his watch. “One hour.”

“But if I was wounded, where is the wound? This whole
situation doesn’t make sense.” Her gaze strayed to the rumpled sheets on the
bed. “No sense whatsoever.”

“We can talk when you’re properly dressed.” He sighed and
turned toward the closet, reaching in for a plain white pinpoint oxford cloth
shirt. When he turned back to hand it to her, he said, “I have the ability to
heal some wounds.”

“Like magic or something?” Reggie snorted. “The only people
I know who can heal a wound that fast are—” All the blood rushed out of her
head, and she remembered her last thought before she’d passed out earlier. “Oh
damn! I just fucked a vampire.”

Chapter Four

Yuri thought she might pass out when her cheeks turned a
pasty gray. Just as quickly as they’d gone pale, they burst into a raging red.

“No fucking way!” she said.

He grimaced. “Do you always use such colorful language?”

“If you find my language offensive, tough.”

“Actually…” He studied her closely. “It reminds me of the
possibilities.”

“It’s not even a remote possibility because first chance I
get I’m going to stake your sorry vampire ass!” Her gaze darted around the room
as if she were looking for the wooden stake to carry through on her promise.

“If you plan to kill me, you’ll have to drive a stake into
my heart not my buttocks.” His lips twitched as he fought to contain the smile
threatening to break loose. He shook the shirt in front of her face. “Please
put this on. I find your breasts very lovely and distracting.”

She slapped his hand away and almost dropped the pillow in
the process, one side dropping low enough to expose her peachy nipple.

Yuri’s cock nudged against his pants, reminding him of the
tasty treat he’d partaken of, bringing him back to full-alert status, and he’d
pay for that in pain until his arousal subsided. If she kept dropping the
pillow, that would be a while. “Put the shirt on,” he said, his voice more
harsh than he’d intended.

“I don’t want your damn shirt, your healing or anything else
from you. Just let me out of here.” She tried to step around him.

His hands reached out and clamped onto her bare shoulders,
the warmth of her skin sending heat waves rippling through him, keeping his
erection in the constant state of granite. He let go and stepped back, but not
out of her way. “I can’t let you leave. It’s not safe.”

“Why?” She stared up into his eyes, hers widening and her
mouth dropping open. “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?”

She rushed to the mirror hanging over the mahogany dresser.
Stretching her neck to the side, she pushed her long red hair back to expose
the white column of her throat. “If you can heal wounds, how do I know you
didn’t bite me and turn me into one of your stinking kind?”

“I didn’t turn you, and we don’t stink unless we choose to.”

“Bull!”

“You didn’t seem to mind my scent before you were fully
awake. You liked a lot of things about me while you thought you were asleep.”

“I’m talking about what you’ve done to me. If you’ve made me
a vampire, I’ll kill you.” She turned and shot him a look of pure venom. “And
when I do, I’ll make it slow and painful.”

“Step outside when the sun comes up, you’ll know the truth
then.” He nodded toward the window. The heavy drapes pulled to the side allowed
a stunning view of the city below. The clouds hung low over the city,
reflecting the glow of streetlights, making it that much brighter in the
darkest hours of early morning.

“I will,” she said, again eyeing the door. “If you’ll just
let me by…”

“You can’t leave until morning.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Cesar’s Dragóns are still roaming the streets as well as
other less-agreeable people.”

“People like you?”

“I’m not here to harm humans.” He sighed. “I came to help.”

“Help?” Reggie snorted. “Help yourself to a woman alone in
the night? If that’s the case, I’m here to stop you and every other bloodsucker
I can lay a stake into.”

“Big words for just one woman. How do you propose to take
out the entire population of vampires?”

“One vamp at a time, buddy. One vamp at a time.” She reached
behind her and jerked a drawer from the dresser. With one hand holding the
pillow, the other swung the drawer against a doorframe, splintering it into
pieces, one of which was sharp and long enough to pierce his heart. “Starting
with you.”

Yuri shook his head. “How can I convince you that I’m one of
the good guys?”

“Seems the only way you’ll convince me is by letting me
stake you through the heart.” She advanced on him, the stick pointed at his
chest.

“Need more help in there?” Torsten’s amused voice called
out.

“No. Everything is under control,” Yuri said, never taking
his gaze away from Reggie’s. He could always put her back in a trance, but this
was much more interesting. He hadn’t felt this alive facing the possibility of
death at the hand and stake of a beautiful woman in a long time. Perhaps never.

The sound of the door opening was followed by a long, low
whistle. “She’s even lovelier fully awake. I can see why you wanted to keep her
to yourself.”

“Not now, Torsten,” Yuri said, hiding a smile. “She’s not
all too fond of vampires.” He agreed with Torsten that Reggie was lovely with
her eyes open, her naked body glowing pale in the soft lighting.

“Interesting,” Torsten said. “Some of us aren’t as bad as
others. We don’t all go around raping, killing and draining our victims.”

Reggie growled and leaped at Yuri. “Move, vampire!”

Yuri reached out and captured her wrist, knocking it against
his thigh until she dropped the stake. Then he spun her around, thrust her arm
up the middle of her back and pressed it between her shoulder blades. “Now see
what you’ve done, Tor? You made her angry.”

She dropped the pillow and elbowed him in the side. “Let me
go.”

Yuri doubled over but didn’t release his hold on her arm,
ratcheting it higher up her back. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said between
gritted teeth.

“Then let me go!” Her foot kicked backward, landing a
glancing blow to his shin.

“Not until daylight. The streets aren’t safe at this hour.”
He clamped an arm around her middle, pinning her free arm to her side and
pulled her tight against his chest.

Her naked body squirmed against him. His cock hardened to
steel. “Stop wiggling.”

“No.” She struggled, her breasts rubbing against the top of
his arm, causing him more consternation than the blow to his shin.

“How can I talk sense into you when you won’t be still?” he
said, grunting as she jabbed another elbow into his ribs.

“You’re a vampire. I don’t listen to vampires. I kill them.”

“Not today, you don’t.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Torsten asked. “She
seems to be getting the better of you.”

Just what he needed—a persistent pest to distract him when
he had his hands full. “Get out!” Yuri roared.

The door slammed none too gently, leaving Yuri and Reggie
alone again.

Reggie planted her feet on the floor and lurched forward in
an attempt to throw him off balance and over her shoulder.

But Yuri was ready. He lifted her high into the air and
marched her to the bed, tossing her to the sheets face first.

Reggie twisted onto her back at the same time Yuri threw
himself across her body, trapping her flailing arms and legs beneath him.

She fought like a hellcat for several more minutes and then
sagged against him, as if all the wind left her sails.

“I have to go back out,” she said, her voice sounding
strained and frantic. “Please let go of me.”

He pulled her arms up over her head and held them pinned to
the bed, as much affected by her quiet plea as her spirited resistance. But he
couldn’t let her go. Not yet. “No.”

“You don’t understand. I have to go back out.”

“Why?”

She inhaled and blew the breath out before answering. “It’s
my job.”

“Your job?”

“Yes. We were the bait to lure the person responsible for
the disappearances of the women you might have heard about in the papers.
Vampires do read, don’t they?”

“Not all of us are animals,” he said. Although the animal in
him wanted more than words from this woman. His animal wanted a repeat
performance. “What did you mean ‘bait’?”

“Bait to draw out the kidnappers.”

Anger as fiery as a red-hot poker seared through his veins.
“Bait? What fool would send a women out as bait?”

“Hey, it was my idea, okay?”

“Then you are a fool.” He frowned down at her. “What are
you—some kind of cop?”

“We’re with the Paranormal Investigative Agency. We search
out and destroy bad vampires like you.” She practically spat the last word in
his face.

“That explains a little. But you were alone when we found
you. Where are the other members of your team?”

“That’s why I have to get back out there. My partner is out
there alone.”

“I’ll send Torsten out to see if he can find him. What does
he look like?”

“He’s a she. And why would I tell you what she looks like?
So Blondie there can capture her too? No thanks.”

“Whatever you choose to believe, you’re staying put. You’re
safer here.”

“I’m no safer here than out there with Cesar’s thugs.”
Reggie bucked beneath him, renewing her fighting against his superior weight
and strength.

The thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs pressed
against his engorged cock, and he had to bite down hard not to moan. “You have
my promise we will not harm you.”